CORPUS CHRISTI — Mural Fest kicked off with artists from around the nation coming to leave their mark in the Coastal Bend.
Murals create a vibrant community that encourages people to visit or stop and admire the surrounding areas.
Ivan Roque, one of these visiting artists, traveled thousands of miles from Miami to leave a little bit of his Latin flavor and what art means to him to downtown Corpus Christi.
“Art is a way of seeing the world, I think art basically allows us to break away from the mundane and just like get lost for a second," Roque said.
He emphasized that art allows people to see the world through someone else's eyes. He said that art allows everyone to interpret it in their own way.
The murals he typically works on are colors that remind him of home – it’s important for him to leave a little bit of his Miami culture wherever he goes.
"It means the world to me right because you know back home like we always have like this genuine thing about respect and the culture," he said. "It's such massive melting pot of people from all over the world that and I'm able to bring that here or anywhere I go really and I get to show some of the Miami flare."
For locals in the area like Caroline Bracken and her sister, they think bringing these murals to the area will benefit the city.
The sisters said about four years ago Corpus Christi didn't look like what it looks now and that it really has potential to be an even more beautiful city.
“I can see Corpus taking a turn in trying to become more beautiful and more walkable and have more life to it," Caroline's sister said.
The mural Roque is working on will incorporate birds since Corpus Christi is considered one of the birdiest cities in the nation. He said that the birds that migrate in to the city and make the Coastal Bend their home represent all the visitors that come from out of town.
Roque said he hopes to one day have his art in all 50 states and seven continents, but his ultimate goal is to inspire the next generation.
The festival will be Friday June 2 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
For more information on Mural Fest click here.
